Chapter 12.28
CHARGES AND RATES
Sections:
12.28.010 Service connection charge – Designated.
12.28.020 Payment of service connection charge.
12.28.030 Rates of charge for sewer services.
12.28.040 Payment of sewer service charge.
12.28.041 Delinquent sewer service charges – Additional charge – Lien.
12.28.042 Payment of fees in event of suit to foreclose sewerage lien.
12.28.050 Sewer revenue fund allocation.
12.28.060 Charges in lieu of assessment.
12.28.061 Latecomer charges in lieu of assessment.
12.28.062 Latecomer charges for sewer connection.
12.28.010 Service connection charge – Designated.
All structures or properties used for human occupancy, employment, recreation, or other purposes which are required to connect to the public sewer under the provisions of the city ordinances shall pay a connection charge of $100.00 for each separate service connection provided to the property during construction of the sewers and before restoration of the trench and surface of the street or easement area in which the sewer is laid. The cost of such connection to the sewer after the sewer construction is completed shall be at actual cost of materials, equipment and labor, divided equally among those served. When one service connection serves two or more properties, a service connection charge shall be at actual cost of materials, equipment and labor, divided equally among those served. (Ord. 316 § 1, 1977; Ord. 189 § 1, 1967; Ord. 168 § 3(A), 1965).
12.28.020 Payment of service connection charge.
Such service connection charge shall be paid at the time application is made for installation of a connecting tee and stubs, or at such time as the city may bill for the installation of such tee and stub, if not previously paid. If such charges are not paid within 30 days of billing, the city shall have a lien as provided under RCW 35.67.200 and such delinquent charge shall bear interest at six percent per year. The proceeds of such charges shall go into the sewer connection account of the sewer system construction fund of the city hereinafter created to defray the actual cost of connecting building sewers to the main or collector sewers and to provide a uniform basis of charge to the property owners regardless of the actual cost of individual connections. (Ord. 189 § 1, 1967; Ord. 168 § 3(B), 1965).
12.28.030 Rates of charge for sewer services.
Each user of public sewers or owner of property to whom notice of availability of sewer service has been sent shall pay to the city’s collection agent, for transmittal to the city sewer revenue fund, service charges as adopted periodically by resolution of the city council, including effective utility tax payable to the state. Application of such rates and service charges shall be in compliance with Federal Guidelines for User Charges for Operation and Maintenance of Publicly Owned Treatment Works. (Ord. 361 § 7, 1980; Ord. 307 § 1, 1976).
12.28.040 Payment of sewer service charge.
The sewer service charge will begin on the first day of the calendar month following notice that sewer service is available for use to the subject property. Bills are due when rendered and subject to a penalty of 10 percent if not paid in full within 90 days of date of billing. A lien against the property will be filed by the city for all bills delinquent for six months or more according to the provisions of RCW 35.67.210. No payments will be accepted by the city for less than the entire amount of overdue sewer service charges against a user or the property served, after a lien notice has been served and filed and while such lien remains unsatisfied. (Ord. 361 § 8, 1980).
12.28.041 Delinquent sewer service charges – Additional charge – Lien.
An additional charge is imposed upon any delinquency in sewer service charges for which a notice of lien must be filed under the provisions of RCW 35.67.210 in an amount equal to the sum of $10.00, plus the actual filing fee exacted by the King County auditor. Any user or property owner desiring a release of lien to be filed upon payment of such delinquency shall pay to the city treasurer, in addition to the actual cost of filing such release with the county auditor, a fee in the sum of $10.00 for the preparation and presentation of such release. (Ord. 251 § 1, 1971).
12.28.042 Payment of fees in event of suit to foreclose sewerage lien.
In the event suit is commenced to foreclose the sewerage lien as required by Chapter 35.67 RCW, there shall be charged and claimed, in addition to the cost of title reports, filing fees, penalties and interest, such sum for attorney’s fees as the court shall adjudge to be reasonable; provided, that in no event shall the attorney’s fees be allowed to exceed the total amount of delinquent charges, interests and costs prayed for in said action. (Ord. 268 § 1, 1973).
12.28.050 Sewer revenue fund allocation.
The money paid into the sewer revenue fund shall be used and paid out for the following purposes only:
(1) To defray the cost of maintenance and operation of the city sewer system as provided by the city’s annual budget;
(2) To make contribution to Southwest Suburban Sewer District for the city’s share of the capital cost and debt service on bonds issued to finance the construction of the joint treatment plant pursuant to the city’s contracts with said district;
(3) To make payment to Southwest Suburban Sewer District for the city’s share of the cost of maintenance and operation of said treatment plant in accordance with contracted obligations therefor. (Ord. 361 § 9, 1980).
12.28.060 Charges in lieu of assessment.
Certain tracts of land benefited by the sewer improvement under L.I.D. 66-SS-1 contained land area grossly in excess of the area requirements of the city building code as a building site which lots did not appear to be of sufficient size to authorize subdivision into additional legal building sites, and such tracts which did not appear to be of sufficient area to permit subdivision were assessed only for general facility benefits on an area basis together with special benefits to the extent of building sites clearly permissible under the zoning regulation at the time of confirming the assessment roll. The owner or user of any parcel of land thereafter subdivided from such a tract, or authorized as a building site by the action of the hearing examiner* in granting a variance from the city zoning regulations, as a condition of obtaining a building permit and a permit to hook onto and use the city public sewer, shall pay a charge in lieu of assessment, equal to the difference in amount which was assessed for the area of the newly authorized building site and the amount of the assessment which would have been levied against such site had it been a legal building lot at the time of confirming the assessment roll of the said local improvement district. (Ord. 189 § 2, 1967; Ord. 168 § 14, 1965).
*Code reviser’s note: Ordinances 783 and 831 replaced the board of adjustment with the hearing examiner position.
12.28.061 Latecomer charges in lieu of assessment.
Owners of property which has not been assessed for benefits accruing from sewer improvements established in a local improvement district or by a developer’s extension (under Chapter 12.32 NPMC) shall, as a condition of connection to the public sewer, pay a latecomer charge in lieu of assessment, which shall be computed by application of the formula utilized in computing assessments within the L.I.D. for the cost of the public sewer or by a similar computation to determine such property’s share of the burden of recovering the developer’s cost for the extension. (Ord. 275 § 3, 1974).
12.28.062 Latecomer charges for sewer connection.
Owners of properties seeking to connect to the city’s sewer system shall pay, prior to such connection, in addition to the assessment and connection fee as required by this chapter, a latecomer charge representing their pro-rata share of the prior cost of the system, which charge shall be computed as follows:
(1) Property located within the boundaries of Local Improvement District 62-SS-1 or any other local improvement district existing as of the date of requested connection shall pay a sum equal to that portion of the monthly service charge paid by owners of similar property which is attributable to repayment of sewer treatment plant bonds and sewer construction bonds, multiplied by the number of months from commencement of such monthly service charge until the month immediately preceding the month during which latecomer connection is made.
(2) Property located outside the boundaries of Local Improvement District 62-SS-1 or any other local improvement district shall pay the sum as indicated in subsection (1) of this section and, in addition thereto, a sum equal to the special assessments which would have been levied by the local improvement district against the latecomer’s property if the property had been located within the boundaries of the local improvement district at the time the district was formed, and including a charge based upon the current Seattle Consumer Price Index from the year 1967; provided, that such sum shall not exceed the estimated special assessments which would be levied against the latecomer’s property if a new local improvement district was formed. The determination of the estimated special assessments shall be made by the city manager based upon current cost data obtained from the sewer district operating the system to which the latecomer will be connected.
(3) All funds derived from the above charges shall be deposited into the 403 sewer revenue trust fund in an effort to forestall the need for future rate increases. (Ord. 329 § 1, 1978).